Kapil Angle receiving man of the match award from architect Upendra Kamat.
MARGAO
MCC Dragons secured their place in the final of the MCC Members Cricket League T20 Season 10 with a 3-wicket victory over MCC Masters in the ‘Qualifier 1’ match held at the MCC ground in Margao. Chasing a modest target of 86, the Dragons reached 86/7 in 16.1 overs after restricting the Masters to 85/9 in their 20 overs.
Following this defeat, MCC Masters will play MCC Warriors in the ‘Qualifier 2’ match on Saturday. The Warriors advanced to this stage by defeating MCC Tigers in the ‘Eliminator’ match.
In the ‘Qualifier 1’ match, MCC Masters struggled to build momentum. Captain Prasad Ghode (22) and Satyesh Kamat (17 not out) were the only notable contributors as the team managed just 85 runs. MCC Dragons’ Om Phadte (2/4) and Kapil Angle (2/13) were instrumental in dismantling the Masters’ batting lineup, with Sudhir Shet, Rajesh Chowgule, Mrunmay Das, and Aditya Prabhugaonkar chipping in with a wicket each.
In response, MCC Dragons faced some early setbacks and were reduced to 30/3 by the 7th over. However, a crucial 40-run partnership between Kapil Angle (27) and Vaibhav Naik (18) steadied the innings. Despite a late wobble at 82/7, the Dragons chased down the target comfortably. MCC Masters’ Amlon D’Souza and Balkrishna Hodarkar took 2 wickets each, while Siddhesh Prabhu Alvencar and Prasad Ghode claimed one each. Kapil Angle was named the Player of the Match.
In the ‘Eliminator’ match, MCC Warriors knocked out MCC Tigers by chasing down their total of 122/9 in 20 overs with 126/6 in 17.5 overs. Batting first, Tigers’ openers Niket Naik Dalal (22), Smit Dalvi (25), and Vedant Naik (28) contributed well, but the middle order failed to capitalize. Warriors’ bowlers Vrushab Kuncolienkar (3/15) and Ketan Kunde (3/15) restricted the Tigers to a modest total.
The Warriors’ chase was precarious at 44/4, but a 40-run partnership between Vrushab Kuncolienkar (25) and Ketan Kunde (30) revived their innings. Abhishek Goyal (8 not out) and Sudip Faldesai (10 not out) sealed the victory for the Warriors. Tigers’ Niket Naik Dalal claimed 3 wickets for 19 runs, while Vikram Gaitonde and Siddharth Ghanekar took a wicket each. Kunde was named the Player of the Match.
The stage is now set for an exciting ‘Qualifier 2’ between MCC Masters and MCC Warriors, with the winner advancing to face MCC Dragons in the final.
